Welcome to Star Trek Simulation Forum

Register now to gain access to all of our features. Once registered and logged in, you will be able to contribute to this site by submitting your own content or replying to existing content. You'll be able to customize your profile, receive reputation points as a reward for submitting content, while also communicating with other members via your own private inbox, plus much more! This message will be removed once you have signed in.

Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
Cptn Moose

Affairs of State

Affairs of State, Stardate 10402.24

 

Benai Tickva slowed his heartbeat by another 50 milliseconds and immediately felt the tension fade from his body. It felt odd, being tense. He hadn't experienced that sensation in years. But the universe was moving too slowly for his tastes, and his body was expressing his displeasure.

 

He knew it was just a perception issue. Tickva was Benai Prime, after all, and had mastered the skills required of his station. Time never flew for Tickva, it progressed methodically, second by second, always at the same pace. But he was still moments away from the proper alignment of the celestial bodies that would open a communication channel with his Department Chair, and those moments were creeping by with an alarming lack of speed.

 

His respiration was also slowed. Adrenaline production had stopped completely. This was so he could stay focused on his work. The celestial window of opportunity for the broadcast was small and they had a large agenda to cover. But that fact shouldn't be irritating him. Coalition Rules of Order had allowed them to cover much more ground in the past, and he knew better than to fret something so monumentally beyond his control as planetary orbits.

 

Perhaps he was absorbing the tensions of the technicians operating the broadcasting equipment? The Paktaran attaches were far more skittish than any race previously assigned to him. They were physically enough like the humans, that it was felt their presence would be reassuring to the Federation. But the Paktarans weren't ready for interstellar contact. They were so afraid of Tickva that the mere threat of his punishments kept them in line. Tickva rarely had to actually punish any of them, other than for show.

 

He increased his respiration and took a deep breath. He could smell their sweat; taste their pheromones. Satisfied he had found the source of his unease, he turned off his sense of smell completely and slowed his breathing down again.

 

Ping. It was time. Contact had been established. Benai Tickva opened his eyes and found that he had been broadcast to a wood paneled antechamber. The room was stately and serene; not overly ornate but authoritative. He had never been here before. It certainly was not his Department Chair's office. But a woman greeted him before he could wonder if he had been broadcast to the wrong location. "Welcome Benai Tickva," she said. "We have been awaiting your arrival. Please follow me." Her tone was pleasant and formal, but it was clear that she held a position of authority outside his sphere of influence. Her heartbeat was strong and regular, almost sedate. She was hiding no deceptions, he thought. Nor is she intimidated by his presence. He allowed her to lead him away.

 

They entered a darkened meeting room, where bright lights shone down upon a raised, horseshoe shaped conference table. Had he been physically present, Tickva would have been able to identify the nine figures seated around the table, down to their age, sex, and species. But he had been broadcast to the meeting, and the environment seemed specifically designed to mute his perceptions.

 

Even with muddled senses, Tickva knew instantly where he was. He had been summoned before the Coalition Counsel. He instantly refused to allow his mind to dwell on the magnitude of this honor, and focused his concentration instead on preparing for this impromptu presentation.

 

"Mr. Chairman," said an unidentifiable male voice sitting on the left edge of the horseshoe. "It appears that our Ambassador to the Federation has arrived. I move that we table our current discussion and move to topic 15 on the agenda."

 

"Discussion?" asked the Chair. His voice was deep and measured; completely controlled. The Chair sounded impartial, but Tickva had no doubt that his opinions were effectively communicated to all.

 

"The Attache on Paktar assigned to the Federation's Delegation is not present," said a female voice. She sounded Gaeic to Tickva, who resolved to stop making observations like that. They were futile. He clearly couldn't trust his senses in the Council meeting room.

 

"Is her presence necessary?" asked the first voice again.

 

"If I may address the Council, Mr. Chairman?" This voice Tickva recognized. It belonged to Prime Varden, the Benai who had been assigned as the primary point of contact with Ambassador Moose. "Because of her prior ties to the Federation, I'm not certain that our Attache is in full support of this project. I felt it best to exclude her from this meeting."

 

"Prime Varden, you have overstepped your authority," said the Chairman. "But you have done so wisely in this case. However, if your Attache cannot fully align herself to the Coalition agenda, she will have to be neutralized. Submit a suitable timetable and action plan to the Secretary before our next meeting."

 

"Yes, Mr. Chairman."

 

"There is a motion on the floor. Does anyone wish to oppose?" The silence was brief, but of the perfect duration. "Motion carried unanimously. We proceed to Item 15. Prime Tickva, you have been asked here today to report on your interviews with the two Federation women. Please proceed."

 

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman." Tickva stepped forward, more to give himself an extra second to prepare than to be heard. But something stopped him. An unseen force prevented him from coming within nine meters of the conference table. Not only could they scramble his perceptions, but they could limit the movement of his broadcast avatar. Tickva had never experienced anything like this before, and it took all his skills to hide his surprise from the Council.

 

"As requested, I allowed a meeting to be arranged between our Embassy and Hayden Dacotah, First Officer of the USS Arcadia. She brought Kelly Quest, a former associate of Ambassador Moose with her. It was immediately apparent that Dacotah is truly a doppleganger for Rowan Midori of Axaia. However, the resemblance is only superficial. Her molecular physiology is completely unique from any human species cataloged so far. She may not be one of the humans, although she chooses to walk amongst the other lifeforms undetected. Her vital signs were barely detectable, so any information I learned had to be inferred solely from her verbal responses."

 

"Then she will not be able to replace Midori's in her role in Proposal PL-038?" It was the Gaein woman who asked the question.

 

"No, Councilwoman. Her presence will inspire confusion only, but that is her only foreseeable purpose."

 

"We will form our own conclusions, Benai Tickva." The Chairman scolded him just as he had Benai Varden. But like Varden, Tickva was Benai Prime. He was trained to control his reactions, and he suspected the Chairman's tone was simply to test that training. "What else did you learn from your meeting?"

 

"Unlike the Ambassador, Captain Moose is not discorporating. His First Officer was surprised to learn of the Ambassador's condition, but showed no curiosity towards the process. The concept of a person's molecules loosing their cohesion was not new to her. Nor did she offer any suggestions on how we might help the Ambassador. Her responses confirmed our intelligence report; Captain Moose had at one time begun to discorporate. His condition was reversed due to alien intervention. They have no idea how this was done."

 

"Your deductions sound logical," said the Chairman. "Now tell us about Kelly Quest."

 

"Molecular scans of the subject confirmed that she is the biological mother of Ambassador Moose's ward, David. The boy's father is dead, and unfortunately, there are no remains to exhume. More invasive tests will be required to determine if the boy's psionic resilience to flux travel was a natural trait passed on from her, or a mutation caused by the pairing of those two individuals."

 

"Test such as you propose cannot be conducted in Federation territory. She must be brought to us," said the Chairman. "The Arcadia must enter Coalition space."

 

"They asked to be allowed across our borders, but I explained that we will not allow passage as long as the Felinian conflict is taking place. Regardless, they will arrive at Paktar long before planetary alignments allow me to broadcast here again."

 

"How can you be certain?" asked the Chairman.

 

"I have seen to it," answered Benai Tickva, firmly and confidently.

 

The room went silent as the Council scrutinized Tickva. Finally the Chairman broke the silence. "Very well," he said. "Let us resume discussion of Item 8 of today's agenda ..."

 

The Chairman banged his gavel sharply and Tickva blinked, just for a moment. But a moment was all it took to break the spell. He was back in Federation space. The broadcast had terminated. Finally, he could relax his control and take in all that had happened. He had appeared before the Coalition Counsel. His counterpart, Benai Vardon, had spent his whole career trying to arrange such an audience, and here, Tickva had one thrust suddenly upon him. He had no idea that the affairs of his ambassadorship in this technological wasteland held so much importance to the Coalition.

 

Tickva always performed his duties to the best of his abilities, which were considerable, because this is what he did. But now he held a conviction that had previously been missing. He was a Benai Prime of the Coalition, and he had been entrusted with matters vital to the Coalition Council. He had trained his entire life for the moment when he could make the contribution that only he could make. That moment was now, and he was determined to execute his duties flawlessly.

 

The Arcadia would travel to Paktar. He had seen to it.

 

Cptn Moose

USS Arcadia, NCC-1742-E

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0